MBA Major

IVSB: Impact, Value, and Sustainable Business

Starting in the 2026-2027 academic year, Wharton MBA students can declare a major in Impact, Value, and Sustainable Business (IVSB).

The major in Impact, Value and Sustainable Business (IVSB) is designed to provide in-depth foundations for those interested in how business activities affect natural, human, and social capital – and how these impacts influence risk, opportunity, and sustainable business performance. After graduation, students majoring in IVSB will be well equipped to shape strategy, innovation, valuations, investment flows, and policy.

There is a strong need for a new generation of expert business leaders who understand the rapidly evolving trends in business models, technology, regulation, and financing with implications for the environment and society as a whole. Students choosing the IVSB major are therefore ideally suited for the ever-expanding set of careers in many fields. Relevant courses are offered by departments including Accounting, Business Economics and Public Policy, Finance, Legal Studies and Business Ethics, Management, Marketing, and Operations Information and Decisions.

Major Requirements

The IVSB major is fulfilled by completing 4.0 credit units (cu) of coursework from the following list of courses approved for the major, with at least 2 credit units (cu) of coursework from the Environmental list. Please note: A student cannot declare both the Impact, Value, and Sustainable Business (IVSB) major and the Social and Governance Factors for Business (SOGB) major. A student also cannot declare both the IVSB major and the Business, Energy, Environment, and Sustainability (BEES) major.

Please note that the courses listed below may not be offered every academic year. Please consult the Penn Course Catalogue for up-to-date information.

Environmental

  • ACCT/BEPP 7640 – Climate and Financial Markets
  • BEPP/FNCE/OIDD 7610 – Climate Risks and Opportunities
  • BEPP/OIDD 7630 – Energy Markets and Policy
  • LGST 8150 – Environmental Management: Law & Policy
  • LGST 6470 – The Business & Governance of Water
  • LGST/OIDD 7620 – Environmental Sustainability & Value Creation
  • MGMT 7230: Strategy and Environmental Sustainability
  • MGMT 8970 – GMC on Sustainability (in Germany) (by application)
  • OIDD 5250 – Thinking with Models: Business Analytics for Energy & Sustainability

Social & Governance

  • ACCT 7470 – Financial Disclosure Analytics
  • BEPP 7700 – Public Finance & Policy
  • BEPP 7730/REAL/FNCE 7300 – Urban Fiscal Policy
  • FNCE 7540 – ESG & Impact Investing
  • FNCE 8020 – Corporate Governance and Shareholder Activism
  • LGST 6420 – Big Data Big Responsibility
  • LGST 6430 – Other People’s Money
  • LGST 8020 – Law of Corporate Management and Finance
  • LGST 8080 – Employment Law
  • MGMT 6240 – Leading Across Cultural and Relational Differences
  • MGMT 6250 – Corporate Governance, Executive Compensation, and the Board
  • MGMT 7150 – Political and Social Environment of the Multinational Firm OR MGMT 7200 – Corporate Diplomacy
  • MGMT 7860 – Reforming Mass Incarceration and the Role of Business
  • MGMT 8120 – Social Entrepreneurship
  • MGMT 8970 – Global Modular Course A (Impact Hack)

Recommended courses to supplement the IVSB major

LGST 6130: Business, Social Responsibility, and the Environment

In addition to courses that count for credit toward the IVSB Major for MBA students, we encourage but do not require MBA students majoring in IVSB to take LGST 6130: Business, Social Responsibility, and the Environment (.5 cu). This course does not count toward the four required credit units for the major in IVSB, but can be taken to fulfill students’ core Legal Studies and Business Ethics requirement. This course focuses on the social and environmental responsibilities of business.

Impact Analytics

For MBA students especially interested in Impact Analytics, we note that while the STAT department does not have courses that count toward the four required credit units for the major, the following courses may be of special interest:

  • STAT 5710 – Modern Data Mining
  • STAT 5810 – Complex Optimization for Statistics and Data Science
  • STAT 5900 – Causal Inference
  • STAT 7100 – Data Collection and Acquisition: Strategies and Platforms
  • STAT 7110 – Forecasting Methods for Management
  • STAT 7220 – Predictive Analytics for Business
  • STAT 7230 – Applied Machine Learning in Business
  • STAT 7240 – Text Analytics
  • STAT 7700 – Data Analytics and Statistical Computing
  • STAT 7730 – Data Science Using ChatGPT
  • STAT 7770 – Introduction to Python for Data Science

Wharton’s STEM MBA Majors

Interested in a STEM-certified business degree? This major is designated as a science, technology, engineering, and mathematics major, which helps students excel in high-demand roles that require both business and technical acumen.

Our STEM majors offer another benefit for international students, who can obtain a STEM OPT extension for their F-1 visa after graduation. The extension allows students to apply the skills they learned in their STEM degree studies in full-time employment in the U.S. If you choose one of these majors, you will be eligible for 36 months of post-completion OPT (compared to 12 months for a non-STEM major).

Questions?

If you are a current Wharton student, contact Sara Jane McCaffrey at mcsa@wharton.upenn.edu.

If you are interested in applying to Wharton, contact the MBA Admissions Office at mba-admiss@wharton.upenn.edu or +1.215.898.6183.

Additional Information

This major is jointly administered by the Business Economics and Public Policy Department, the Legal Studies and Business Ethics Department, and the Management Department. The faculty advisors to this major are Professors Arthur van Benthem (BEPP), Witold (Vit) Henisz (MGMT), and Sarah E. Light (LGST).

Helpful Links

For more information about resources at Wharton and the University of Pennsylvania more broadly on climate, energy, environment, and sustainability, please click here.